The Mt. Carmel City Council has approved a plan to make the job easier for crews plowing snow and ice from city streets. The council has voted to construct a new area to store road salt and buy a large tarp to cover it. Street Commissioner Tom Meeks said crews spent a considerable amount of time during last month’s snow storms trying to chip away at huge chunks of salt to fit into the snow plows and salt spreaders. Meeks said the road salt is currently exposed to the elements and that causes the salt to essentially become a 15-ton solid block. Mayor Joe Judge estimated the city loses 10% of the salt to rain during good weather months. The cost of storage structure and tarp is $20,000 and will be paid for with motor fuel tax funds.